The Churches of Paris Part 14

The building is 265 feet long, 65 feet broad, and 59 feet high. The nave is divided into five bays, the choir into four, and the apse into five; but these latter are much narrower than those of the nave. In the 17th century, the timber roof of Abbot Morard gave place to a stone vault, the transepts were rebuilt, and the nave much altered; but quite recently it has been restored to its primitive condition and decorated with frescoes by Hippolyte Flandrin. The church having been used during the Revolution as a saltpetre manufactory, the corrosive waters had so undermined the foundations of the pillars that they were obliged to be supported by enormous scaffoldings while the bases were repaired.

The choir and the apse are surrounded by square and polygonal chapels.

The lower arches are round, the upper pointed; the intermingling being in no way inharmonious. Most of the present capitals are copies of the twelve remaining original ones which were transferred to the garden of the Hotel Cluny; but they are of very inferior workmans.h.i.+p. The subjects treated are various: Angels, Saints, the Lamb of G.o.d, Daniel surrounded by the lions, priests celebrating the Holy Mysteries, Samson breaking the jaw of the lion. The old capitals are rough, but full of character, whereas the modern ones are utterly devoid thereof. A few of the old ones may be studied embedded in the walls of the aisles; the subjects being: The Visitation, The Birth of Christ, Warriors costumed as Roman soldiers, Syrens, male and female, surrounded by fish, interlaced serpents, hippopotami holding smaller beasts between their paws, and other quaint imagery peculiar to the Romanesque period. In the Hotel Cluny may also be seen the upper part of an early ivory crozier belonging to the abbey, which was found in a coffin during some excavations in 1854--and some fragments of stone coffins. The choir, beautiful in its vigorous simplicity, remains as the 12th century left it. It was dedicated by Pope Alexander III., on the 21st of April, 1163; and on the same day Hubald, bishop of Ostia, a.s.sisted by three other bishops, consecrated the apsidal chapels. On entering the church at the west end, and looking towards the altar, it will be seen that the building deviates considerably from a straight line, which M. Guilhermy ascribes rather to difficulties of construction, which always occur when a new building is placed amongst older ones of which it is to be a part, than to the legend which attributes this arrangement (so common in Mediaeval churches) to the position of our Lord upon the Cross. S.

etienne du Mont is even more out of a straight line--it turns more than any church I have seen. The columns resemble those of Notre-Dame in their ma.s.siveness. All the arches of the choir and chapels are round, but those of the apse and clerestory are pointed. The capitals of these choir pillars are all worthy of study, being in the best style of the period, and full of the quaint symbolism of the Middle Ages: human heads of a grotesque style, lions, harpies, birds pecking vigorously at the heads of men and women, griffins, and winged animals. The bases are all ornamented with foliage; but between the second and third chapels on the south side is an example of ornament which is probably unique, viz., two slippers, one embroidered and one plain, evidently those of a bishop or abbot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A CAPITAL OF THE CHOIR.]

The original High Altar, renovated in 1704, has been destroyed since 1792, up to which time it had existed in all its pristine beauty and splendour. The frontal was of gilt copper, with silver-gilt figures under canopies; and upon the retable rested the _cha.s.se_ of S. Germain, a magnificent specimen of smithcraft enriched with precious stones. It was made in the time of Abbot Guillaume III., about 1408 or 1409, and contained twenty-six marks two ounces of gold, 250 marks of silver, 260 precious stones, and 197 pearls. One would like to know what became of so many gems. Six of the cipolin columns of the baldachino, which were brought from the ruins of a Roman town upon the African coast in the reign of Louis XIV., are now doing duty in the gallery of paintings of the Louvre. The tomb of S. Germain, which was the scene of so many miracles and wonders, has been suppressed and covered up by the pavement. It was sunk below the level of the church, near the fourth column of the choir on the north side, and for centuries was a favourite spot for prayer and meditation. The chapel of S. Symphorien, at the end of the nave on the south side, is modern, having been consecrated by the great teacher, S. Francois de Sales, on the 27th April, 1619; the monument which marked the first burial-place of S. Germain being no longer in it. The chapels of S. Marguerite and of S. Casimir, in the transept, are ornamented with marble columns. That of the Blessed Virgin is modern, and in wretched taste; and the High Altar, the first stone of which was laid by Pius VII., is equally out of keeping with the rest of the church.

In an apsidal chapel are some fragments of 13th century gla.s.s, representing SS. Anna and Joachim, The Annunciation and the Marriage of the Virgin. In the south side of the nave is a large marble statue, called Notre-Dame la Blanche, given in 1340 by Jeanne d'evreux to the Abbey of S. Denis. Placed at the Revolution in the Musee des Pet.i.ts-Augustins, it was afterwards transferred to S. Germain. The marble statue of S. Marguerite is by one of the brothers of the convent, Jacques Bourlet; and that representing S. Francois Xavier is by Coustou the younger. The following tombs were partially restored in 1824: Jean Casimir, King of Poland, who, having renounced his throne, became abbot in 1669, and died in 1672 (the kneeling figure is by Marsy, the bas-relief by Jean Thibaut, of the Congregation of S. Maur); Olivier and Louis de Castellan, killed in the service of the king in 1644 and 1669 (the figures and medallions are by Girardon); William Douglas, eighteenth Earl of Angus, who died in 1611, and his grandson James Douglas, killed in 1645, near Douai, aged twenty-eight. The epitaphs, which the Academy set up in 1819 to the memory of Nicholas Boileau, of Rene Descartes,[89] of Jean Mabillion, and of Bernard de Montfaucon, which were formerly at the Musee des Pet.i.ts-Augustins, were placed here on the dispersal of that museum. Boileau reposed formerly in the Sainte-Chapelle, and Descartes at S. Genevieve. What remained of the royal tombs was transferred to S. Denis. Of the riches of the Treasury nothing whatever was saved; it was all pillaged and dispersed.

The whole church has been painted in polychrome; red shafts and gilded capitals, a blue-and-gold starred vault. All round nave, transepts, and choir, just below the clerestory, are the exquisite frescoes by Flandrin, one of the few 19th century religious painters who has shown the possibility of uniting the sentiment of the early Florentine and Flemish schools with the, in some respects, superior knowledge of the modern. His work is so purely religious, and yet so essentially modern, that one wonders whence he drew his inspiration. There is nothing of the Archaic in his pictures; his figures are never attenuated, and yet the sentiment is as full of piety as in the work of Angelico: it is as if the Frenchman had drunk in the beauty of form of the Greeks, and amalgamated it with the faith of the Early Christians. And yet there is none of the false sentimentality of the modern school, the Saints who simper, and the milk-and-water misses bearing palm branches and crowns, and calling themselves martyrs. Flandrin's is essentially a masculine type of art; it is powerful as well as graceful, vigorous as well as refined. His Saints and Angels have all the sweet expression of those of Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi; while they are as perfectly modelled as a Greek Apollo, or the figures of Buonarroti and Raffaello. But Flandrin was not ashamed of calling himself a believer in the doctrines and mysteries of the Christian faith, and in the Biblical subjects which he was called upon to ill.u.s.trate. The man who considered religious painting to be "the height of Art, and the most worthy employment of genius," and who wrote upon the door of his studio, "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work, I will triumph in the works of Thy hands," could not have been, as a Christian, on a much lower level than Fra Angelico, who is said to have painted while a.s.suming the att.i.tude of prayer. Flandrin was the favourite pupil of Ingres, and won the Grand Prix de Rome of 1832. Humble-minded, gentle, courageous, he worked for love rather than for fame or money. His early struggles when he first arrived in Paris from his native place were terrible. He lived in a veritable garret with his brother, sacrificing anything in order to work at painting. Often in winter they went to bed at 5 o'clock in the afternoon to escape the cold of their attic. Their dinner was frequently some fried potatoes bought at stalls in the streets and squares; and it is probably to the privations endured for love of art that his bad health and early death may be attributed. But his enthusiasm carried him on; and he lived long enough to count his sacrifices as nothing compared to his successes. He stands out in this 19th century an example to all artists, and as the one man who can be compared to the blessed monk of Fiesole.

Like so many artists, he had to surmount many a home obstacle; and, being the fourth of a family of seven children, with two brothers devoting themselves to their father's calling, it is no wonder that the good mother wished Hippolyte to try some trade by which he could live.

The father had been ambitious; but had been obliged to give up _genre_ for miniature painting. The boys, however, plodded on, and sketched all that came in their way, which seems to have been mainly soldiers; and when a sculptor named Fayatier, happening to see their drawings, gave them a little encouragement, the mother's opposition melted, and they entered the studio of Magnin at Lyons. There and at the Beaux-Arts, they remained seven years, selling drawings and lithographs wherewith to gain a little nest-egg to enable them to go to Paris, the goal then, as now, of ambitious students. It was little enough, but the journey, being taken upon foot, the whole h.o.a.rd was reserved for household expenses and lessons. Once in the capital, the brothers resolved to put themselves under M. Ingres, if he would allow them, and so encouraging was his welcome, that a friends.h.i.+p soon sprang up between master and pupils.

Many traits in Ingres' character which came out in the history of the Flandrins' early artistic career prove him to have been sympathetic to the highest degree; and not a little pleasant is it to find that, when he heard of his pupils' forced asceticism, he exclaimed, "And I was taking their money!" Indeed, there are many anecdotes which prove as much the love of the master for the pupils as the devotion of the pupils for the master. He was inconsolable when Hippolyte failed to gain the _Prix de Rome_. "You have no notion how hard it is for a young man's hopes to be dashed to the ground!" he said to his wife; and he spoke of him as the "Lamb which had been slaughtered." He knew that it was unjust, and he felt the injustice as much as if it had been done to himself.

The account Hippolyte gives his brother Auguste of the whole affair is most touching.[90] "_Mon bon ami, mon cher_ Auguste, I have experienced the last trial in competing for the _Grand Prix_, but it has been dreadful! The subject was a figure in painting, three feet high. I executed it, and yesterday was the day of the decision. I was satisfied with myself, and was hopeful, _mais tu verras_. M. Ingres, M. Guerin, M.

Granet, and three other members of the Inst.i.tute, on entering the exhibition hall, wished to place me first. _Mais non_: M. Gros and his party carried it otherwise; and instead of _first_, I have been voted _last_. M. Ingres, in despair, at length left the room, protesting with all his might against the proceedings of the meeting; and I have not been received. You may imagine what I felt when I heard I was excluded.... I dared not call upon M. Ingres; still I could not reproach myself; my figure was far the best; I can say so without pride. At last, in the evening, I determined to go. I found him at dinner, but he ate nothing. Several members of the Inst.i.tute had come to comfort him, but he would not be consoled. He received me with, "Behold the lamb they have slaughtered!" ... And all this with the accent of a heart so deeply moved that tears filled his eyes. He made me sit at his table, dine with him, and at last embraced me as a father would his son. I went away and was comforted. Oh! what do not I owe to this man who has already done so much for us, and who, on this occasion, has perhaps done more.... But sometimes regret seizes me, for this would have been the means of taking a great step.... And then it was the only way to show my grat.i.tude to M. Ingres; for to you, my brother, I can say that my good master had founded great hopes on my picture." The next year the same difficulties (want of money to pay for models, &c.) made him almost give up the idea of competing; but getting some portraits to do, and knowing that his master was keen upon the matter, he sent in his name. One of his sitters happened to be a _gen-d'arme_, whom he had promised to paint for 30 fs. When the portrait was finished, the man was so pleased that he said to the painter, "_I promised you 30 fs., but here are 35 fs.!_"

Flandrin often said that he never was so pleased as when he received those additional 5 fs.

But a greater enemy to work than poverty appeared--cholera, the scourge of 1832. One of the compet.i.tors for the _Prix de Rome_ died on his way to the school, and Hippolyte was attacked. He struggled against it, and, weak though he was, he went on working; but at length he had to give way, and for a whole month he was in bed. A few days before the time for sending in the pictures, he returned to work, and managed to finish his subject, which was at once p.r.o.nounced as having the _Grand Prix_. At Rome, Flandrin was in his element; he studied the great masters, and drank in all their wisdom, working almost entirely upon religious subjects. Even Ary Scheffer, then at the height of his fame, felt the extreme beauty of his young rival's art. "No, I know nothing, nothing at all," he said to Hippolyte, on seeing the latter's picture of _Jesus with the Little Children_.

Flandrin's first commission for Church decoration was in his native city, S. Severinus of Lyon; his second, S. Germain; but his greatest work was the mural painting of S. Vincent de Paul, which he accomplished some years later.

On the 21st of March, 1864, Flandrin died at Rome of small-pox, whither he had gone for his health. He was buried at Pere-la-Chaise; but the funeral service was held in the church he did so much to embellish; and, two years after, his friends placed a monument by M. Oudine to his memory, upon the wall of the north aisle. It is composed of white marble, four columns supporting a pediment, and resting upon a freize.

Below the bust is an epitaph which is little in keeping with the man or the place:

a HIPPOLYTE FLANDRIN.

SES AMIS, SES ELeVES, SES ADMIRATEURS, LYON, 22 MARS, 1809,--ROME, 21 MARS, 1864.

Not one word of what he loved above all things, his home, his country, his art, and his G.o.d; and yet his friends, his pupils, and in fact everyone acquainted with him, must have known that such a man would have liked a few words upon his tomb which would have borne witness to the depth of his religious feelings. Here is an extract from a letter to his eldest brother which breathes through it his piety and his love of home: "You cannot imagine how I long to see you and embrace you, as well as the mother and father. Almost every night I fancy myself at Lyon, and yesterday I was really angry with Paul (his brother, helper, and fellow-student), because he awoke me just at the moment when I thought I was kissing you. I was crying for joy.... Remember that we agreed to pray for each other every evening. I never fail to do so, and I feel sure our poor mother never forgets: she loves us so much, and she is so far off. _Pauvre pere, la bonne mere, vous n'etes plus entournes par tous vos enfants._"

The choir was the first part of S. Germain which was decorated, and it is the most successful, the nave pictures being somewhat flat, and faded in colour; but without the use of gold it was impossible to make the subjects effective with the bright polychrome surroundings, and Flandrin justly considered that the nave should be subordinate in splendour to the choir and sanctuary. On the right and left of the commencement of the choir are two large compositions: Christ entering into Jerusalem, and The Way of the Cross, both upon gold grounds. Above these are the twelve Apostles clothed in white, and the allegorical Virtues; and higher still are the founders of the church, Childebert and S. Germain, with the patron S. Vincent, Queen Ultrogothe, and abbot Morard. All these works are full of intense feeling, and the group of the Blessed Virgin and S. John have rarely been surpa.s.sed, from the pathetic point of view, by any religious painter. There is a certain modernness about them; the figures seem to emphasize the human element in our Lord's person, the sympathy, the love, and the sorrow; there is no weak sentimentality depicted--and yet the treatment adheres to the conventional traditions. The richness of the gold around, too, enhances the beauty of the compositions, and makes them almost as gorgeous as mosaics.

The frescoes of the nave occupy the s.p.a.ce between the arches and the clerestory windows--in all, twenty compositions. The subjects are taken from the history of our Lord, and the corresponding Old Testament types.

The two pictures forming one subject in each architectural division, show how perfectly the arts of painting and architecture may be made to harmonize, to be welded together as it were, although seven centuries separate the builder from the decorator. Except for a certain modernness of style, Flandrin might have lived and worked with the original architect, for his plan is that so often seen in the works of the Mediaevalists, as for instance in the _Biblia Pauperum_.

In the first arcade on the left, on entering the church, we see The Annunciation and the Burning Bush, and under the window the text: "_Domine mitte quem missures es_" (Exodus iv. 13). The characteristic of the first of these pictures is the simplicity of the Virgin's expression, as she hears the Angels' message. Next comes The Nativity and its type, The Fall, with the legend, _Per hominem mors, per hominem resurrectio_ (1 Corinthians xv. 21). The figures of Adam and Eve are excellent examples of the purity of form so commonly found in Flandrin's work. The Nativity is treated in the conventional manner, except that three Angels watch the child and its mother (who lie upon a rustic bed); while behind them, a Seraph bears a banner upon which is written: "_Gloria in, Excelsis Deo._"

This is followed by The Adoration of the Magi and Balaam, the text being: "_Habitantibus in regione umbrae ... lux orta est_" (Isaiah ix.

2). The Old Testament subject depicts the moment when Balaam, taken to the top of Pethor by Balak, blesses instead of curses the enemy. Before them is the altar; around them are the princes of Moab, angry and threatening; in the background are the tents of the children of Israel.

The victims are ready for the sacrifice, but to the astonishment of the king and his followers, Balaam lifts up his voice and blesses those he was brought to curse. _How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!_ This is one of the finest of the series.

In The Baptism we see the ascetic figure of S. John the Baptist pouring water upon Our Lord's head, while three Angels kneel upon the bank of the river, doing homage. Above is the descending dove and the verse: _Erit Sanguis Vobis in Signum_ (Exodus xii. 13). In the Pa.s.sage of the Red Sea, the majestic figure of Moses stands upon the sh.o.r.e, his hair and drapery blown by the wind. He raises his hand, and the waters close over the Egyptians, while the Israelites lift up their voices in triumphant songs, Miriam leading them to the sound of the timbrel: _Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea._

The Inst.i.tution of the Eucharist is treated from the purely Roman Catholic point of view. Our Blessed Lord is standing, holding up the wafer for adoration, while He places the other hand upon His side, symbolical of the gift of the sacred heart combined with His precious body. The Apostles form two groups, one on each side: _Novi Testamenti Mediator est_ (Hebrews ix. 15). The Old Testament type is Melchizedek appearing to Abram: _And Melchizedec King of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high G.o.d._

The next pictures, close to the choir, are badly lighted, but both are very fine. The Treason of Judas, and Joseph sold by his Brethren: _Pro salute vestra misit me Deus_ (Genesis xiv. 5).

And now we come to a subject into which Flandrin threw all his strength--The Crucifixion--which is not inferior in feeling to the great Angelico in the Convent of San Marco at Firenze. The divine expression of the dying Saviour, the heart-rending sorrow of the Mother, and the pa.s.sionate grief of the Magdalen, are all exquisitely portrayed. So, too, The Sacrifice of Isaac, which is its type, is full of pathos and true religious sentiment. _Proprio filio non pepercit_ (Romans viii. 32) is the text.

In the treatment of Jonah, the type of The Resurrection, the painter has avoided what must always be a difficulty--the great fish. Those who saw this _tableau_ years ago at Ober-Ammergau must remember that even the good souls of that village could not divest the subject of the ludicrous element, and they did well, in 1890, to omit it. But Flandrin has got over the difficulty by making his prophet walking upon a beach, with waves breaking upon the sh.o.r.e around him. He has been ejected from the whale, and is giving thanks for his deliverance. _Signum Jonae Prophetae_ (Matthew xii. 39).

_That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel_, is the legend of the charge to Peter. _Gentes esse cohaeredes ... promissionis in Christo_ (Ephesians iii. 6). In the foreground kneels S. Peter, to whom Our Lord gives the keys of heaven and h.e.l.l: but the rest of the Apostles stand around, and form part of the group: _Feed my sheep._ The type is The Dispersion of the Nations subsequent to the building of Babel; and Flandrin has most graphically described the wonder and amazement of the crowd, who, not being able to converse any longer, leave the town and scatter themselves over the face of the earth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ADAM AND EVE.]

Above the frieze of subject-pictures are numerous personages in the panels which surround the windows, all from the Old Testament: Adam and Eve, Jacob Blessing his Children, Job, Samson, Aaron, Joshua, Miriam, Deborah, Judith, and ending with John the Baptist. Adam and Eve are, perhaps, the finest of these figures. Adam stands erect, thoughtful, repentant, and ashamed; but his clasped right hand seems to indicate steadfastness of purpose to retrieve the past. Eve abandons herself to sorrow, and leans upon her husband's shoulder as if resolving in the future to depend upon him. The treatment is at once almost Cla.s.sic in its simplicity, and realistic in its naturalism; the only discordant note being a something in the way in which Eve's hair falls upon her forehead, an echo, as it were, of the model, and the ugly fas.h.i.+on of dressing the hair peculiar to the thirties and forties, which so often shocks us in the Nymphs and Venuses by Etty, and gives them an unclothed appearance.

Formerly, judging from Dibden's account of the church, there was great display in the religious functions at S. Germain: "The immediate vicinity of S. Germain is sadly choked by stalls and shops--the West front has been cruelly covered by modern appendages. It is the church dearest to antiquaries, and with reason. I first visited it on a Sunday, when that part of the service was performed which required the fullest intonations of the organ. The effect altogether was very striking. The singular pillars of which the capitals are equally ma.s.sive and grotesque, being sometimes composed of human beings, and sometimes of birds and beasts, especially towards the choir--the rising up and sitting down of the congregation, and the yet more frequent movements of the priests--the swinging of the censers--and the parade of the vergers, dressed in bag wigs, with broad red sashes of silk, and silk stockings--but above all, the most scientifically-touched, as well as the deepest and loudest toned organ I ever heard--perfectly bewildered and amazed me! Upon the dispersion of the congregation--which very shortly followed this religious excitation--I had ample leisure to survey every part of this curious old structure, which reminded me, although upon a much larger scale, of the peculiarities of S. Georges de Bocherville and Notre-Dame at Guibray. Certainly, very much of this church is of the twelfth century, and, as I am not writing to our friend N., I will make bold to say that some portions of it yet 'smacks strongly' of the eleventh."

I cannot say that I have ever noted much ceremonial, or any fine music, at S. Germain. Times have changed probably; certainly, its chief beauty now is the building itself--its grand architecture and beautiful decoration.

SAINT-GERVAIS-SAINT-PROTAIS.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

There can be no doubt that the quaint inscription informing "les bonnes gens" that the church of _Messeigneurs Saint Gervais et Saint Prothais_ was dedicated in 1420, refers to an earlier building than the present one. The Saints were twin-brothers, and are represented here as elsewhere, vested as deacons, although there is no evidence in their history of their having been in holy orders. The full inscription is as follows:--

BONNES GENS PLAISE VOUS SAUOIR QUE CESTE PRESENTE ESGLISE DE MESSEIGNEURS SAINT GERVAIS ET SAINT PROTHAIS FUT DEDIeE LE DIMaNCHE DEUANT LA FESTE DE SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE, L'AN MIL QUATRE CENS ET VINT PAR LA MAIN DU REUEREND PERE EN DIEU MAISTRE GOMBAUT, EVESQUE D'A- GRENCE, ET SERA A TOUSJOURS LA FESTE DE LA SAINTE DeDICACE LE DIMaNCHE DEUANT LA DICTE FESTE DE SAINT SIMON ET SAINT JUDE. SI VOUS PLAIS Y VENIR, GANGNIER LES GRANS PARDONS ET PRIEZ POUR LES BIENS-FAICTEURS DE CETTE ESGLISE ET AUSSI POUR LES TRESPa.s.sEZ. PATER NOSTER AUE MARIA.

The twins were discovered as martyrs by S. Ambrose at Milano, when, in 387, he was desirous of founding a new church. The people called upon him to consecrate the building by placing some holy relics therein; and he, good bishop, was only too eager to gratify their wish. And so he had a dream, or a trance, or something between the two; for, while possessed of this desire to gratify the piety of his children, he, like a good shepherd, went to the church of S. Nabor and S. Felis to pray for his sheep; and as he knelt, he saw a vision of two beauteous young men clothed in white, standing with S. Peter and S. Paul. And it was revealed to S. Ambrose that these two young men were holy martyrs, whose bodies had been buried where he knelt. So he called his clergy-folk, and they all searched, and found two bodies of gigantic size separated from the heads, with much blood, and some writing recording their names. They were Gervasius and Protarius, who had suffered martyrdom under Nero.

Having been sent bound to Milano, together with Nazarus and Celsus, they were brought before Count Artesius and accused of being Christians. Upon being commanded to sacrifice to Artesius' idols, they refused and were condemned, Gervasius to be beaten to death with lead-loaded scourges, Protarius to be beheaded. Thus they died, and a good man named Philip took up their bodies, and buried them in his own garden, where they rested until discovered by S. Ambrose. On the second day of the discovery, the bodies were borne with great solemnity to the Basilica; and many persons, touching the pall which covered the Saints, were cured of divers diseases, and of evil spirits. One man who had been blind for many years, Severus by name, and who had lived upon the alms of the wealthy, obtained permission to touch the bones of the holy martyrs, and was restored to sight; and then all the people rejoiced, for the man's infirmity being well known to everyone in the city, there could be no doubt that the cure had been effected through the intercession of the blessed saints. And this being so, S. Ambrose laid their bones under the altar, saying: "Let the victims be borne in triumph to the place where Christ is the sacrifice; He upon the altar, who suffered for all; they beneath the altar, who were redeemed by His suffering!" Then came the Arians, and scoffingly accused S. Ambrose of bribing Severus and others to aid and abet him in his miraculous performances; but the bishop defeated their wicked ways, and the church was dedicated to the twin brothers. S. Ambrose was buried in the same church, and subsequently its name was changed to that of Sant' Ambrogio Maggiore. In Italy the brothers were held in little repute as time went on; but S. Germain, bishop of Paris, having in 560 carried some of their relics to France, they became exceedingly popular, and the patrons of several cathedrals and parish churches, besides being favourite subjects with some of the French school of painters, Le Sueur, Philippe de Champagne, and Nicholas Poussin.

In the History of S. Germain by Fortunat, a church dedicated to the twin brothers is mentioned, the door of which, when the good bishop desired to enter the building, flew open of its accord. S. Germain entered the church, and after much praying, restored his sight to a blind man, and worked other wondrous miracles through the intervention of the martyrs.

The present church is of Pointed and Cla.s.sic architecture, the portal and _facade_ being in the latter style.[91] Louis XIII. laid the first stone in 1616, Jacques de Brosse being the architect. A not very favourable, but tolerably just, opinion is pa.s.sed upon it by our old friend Dibden:

"The next Gothic church to Notre-Dame in size and importance is that of _S. Gervais_, situated to the left, in the Rue de Monceau. It has a very lofty nave, but the interior is exceedingly flat and divested of ornaments. The pillars have scarcely any capitals. The choir is totally dest.i.tute of effect. Some of the stained gla.s.s is rich and old, but a great deal has been stolen or demolished during the Revolution. There is a good large modern picture in one of the side chapels to the right, and a yet more modern one much inferior on the opposite side. In almost every side chapel, and in the confessionals, the priests were busily engaged in the catechetical examination of young people previous to the first Communion on the following Sabbath, which was the Fete Dieu. The Western front is wholly Grecian--perhaps about 200 years old. It is too lofty for its width--but has a grand effect, and is justly much celebrated. Yet the situation of this fine old Gothic church is among the most wretched of those in Paris. It is preserved from suffocation only by holding its head so high." The last remark is no longer applicable, as the church is now quite disenc.u.mbered from secular excrescences.

The interior is cold, dull, and dreary, almost the only part that relieves its monotony being the organ tribune, which is quaintly ornamented with Angels and Corinthian columns, a device of the 17th century. The statues of the Saints upon the altar are the work of Bourdin, a sculptor of the 17th century. The six candelabra and the cross of gilt bronze, belonging formerly to the abbey church of S.

Genevieve, are among the bronze _chefs-d'uvre_ of the 18th century.

The stalls are finely carved, and bear various designs upon their bas-reliefs; but especially notable are the little histories upon the _misereres_: a writer at his desk; an architect measuring some blocks of stone, accompanied by his workmen; a baker putting his bread in the oven; a man stooping down with a fool's cap on his head; the vinedressers in a vat; a Genus sleeping upon a grave with his head resting upon a skull; two men squabbling; a shoemaker at his last, surrounded by a fine collection of foot-gear; two men roasting; a Syren, a crowned Salamander, a grotesque animal, a lion, and a pig gobbling in a gluttonous fas.h.i.+on; and finally a man in a boat traversing a river.

Some of the gla.s.s is fine, but much has been destroyed; and only the other day the Anarchists did their best to demolish the little which remains. In the choir the story of Lazarus, and the Pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel, were painted by Robert Pinaigrier, as well as the windows of the Lady Chapel; and another great _vitrier_, Jean Cousin, embellished S. Gervais with some beautiful golden-toned gla.s.s--The Martyrdom of S. Laurence, The Good Samaritan, and The Judgment of Solomon. On one fragment of the latter is the date 1531. The story is told most quaintly; Solomon sleeps surrounded by his books; and it is thus that he drinks in the wisdom which the Queen of Sheba, in the next panel, comes to enjoy.

Among the other subjects, we see S. Peter baptising Cornelius, surrounded by divers Scripture events. In the Lady Chapel a Tree of Jesse has survived, and also the Legend of S. Anne, attributed to Pinaigrier; but the latter is filled in with much that is modern--clever, but wanting in the vigorous drawing of the old gla.s.s painters, and the glorious transparency of the colours. One of the old panes shows us the Virgin weaving a curtain for the Temple, and being fed by an Angel. In this chapel there is a remarkable boss which descends from the vault. If is 6ft. in diameter, and falls 3ft.; and although iron has been used in its fabrication, it is, notwithstanding, a wonderful piece of masonry of the brothers Jacquet. It is a ma.s.s of carving--emblems of the Blessed Virgin; a fortified town (the Tower of David), and the Morning Star; attributes found in the offices of Our Lady.

A good many distinguished people were buried at S. Gervais: Scarron, more celebrated as having been the first husband of the notorious Mme.

de Maintenon than for his writings; that excellent, but insufficiently appreciated painter, Philippe de Champaigne; Ducange, the antiquarian and historian; the chancellors Le Tellier, Louis Roucherat and Charles Voysin; archbishop Le Tellier of Reims, son of the chancellor and founder of the library of S. Genevieve; and the poet Crebillon, author of _Rhadamistus_, _Electra_, _Catiline_, and other tragedies. The only monument which remains is that of Le Tellier, who reposes in white marble upon a black marble mattress, with allegorical figures watching over his slumbers. It was the work of Mazeline and Hurtrelle, members of the Academy, but not otherwise celebrated, as is occasionally the case.

In one of the chapels of the nave is a 13th century bas-relief of Our Lord receiving His mother's soul as she expires, surrounded by the Apostles; a fine old picture painted upon wood, of various scenes from the Pa.s.sion, formerly attributed to Albrecht Durer, but more probably by some master of the Flemish school. Many of the pictures by Lesueur, Bourdon, and Philippe de Champaigne, formerly in this church, are now in the Louvre.